The Ministry has established a hub-and-spoke model to distribute various essential items across the country, wherein these commodities sourced from various parts of the country are first brought to various hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

More than 138 tonnes of cargo comprising Covid-19-related reagents, enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits, personal protection equipment like masks and gloves and other accessories have been transported through the country in 107 cargo flights operated between March 26 and Friday.

These flights, flown by private carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet, in addition to Air India, Alliance Air and Indian Air Force, have been operated under the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Lifeline Udan scheme.

The Ministry has established a hub-and-spoke model to distribute various essential items across the country, wherein these commodities sourced from various parts of the country are first brought to various hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Thereafter, these goods are distributed to different state capitals or other towns as per requisitioning by state governments. Additionally, an “air bridge” between Shanghai and Delhi has been established by Air India, which will operate its first cargo flight to the Chinese city on Sunday, in addition to other dedicated scheduled cargo flights for uplifting of critical medical equipment from China.